Kiffin plans to utilize 'shitty system' as portal re-opening looms
OXFORD — Kadyn Proctor began his career at Alabama.
In January, he transferred to Iowa, where he received NIL funds as part of his compensation package.
Earlier this month, Proctor announced that he’s returning to Alabama, where he will presumably receive NIL compensation from the Crimson Tide.
With the NCAA transfer portal re-opening in less than three weeks and with unlimited transfers now a thing in the sport, it’s more than possible Proctor won’t be the only player to spend spring or part of spring at one school only to switch to another in time for the 2024 season.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said he certainly won’t be surprised if the second half of April is very active all over the country.
“Here again, it’s a really stupid system,” Kiffin said. “Hey, it’s good for the players, maybe. It’s good for them financially but I’m not really sure it’s good for them that they can leave anytime something goes wrong. They’re just going to run, no matter what. I think what you’re going to see — I said this when they first started this —is people that, ‘I’m going to go somewhere, get their money and having never played a down as a transfer and I’m going to back in right after spring ball and go somewhere else and get their money.’”
Kiffin reiterated his oft-stated concern that the system isn’t good for the sport.
“You’ve created a system where you can just go get money basically at the end of every semester,” Kiffin said, “switching spots as many times as you want. …That’s not good.”
Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz echoed those sentiments Tuesday, saying that while “it’s best for both parties” for Proctor to return to Tuscaloosa, he has concerns about the system.
"I try not to get too surprised by anything,” Ferentz said. “I think it's a reflection of the system. ...The biggest concern is that there are no boundaries and it's not sustainable.”
Kiffin has worked the transfer portal masterfully since its inception, rebuilding Ole Miss into a national power entering the 2024 season. However, with unlimited transfers now in play, Kiffin — and his peers in college coaching — are now in uncharted waters.
Kiffin said he told people around the Ole Miss program they “better make something they sign for a year” so players are at least committed for one season, noting the current college system is laughable compared to NFL roster-building.
“It’s really a shitty system,” Kiffin said. “It is. Now, we’re going to utilize it, just like the players do. I’m not mad at the the players. They utilize the system and we’re going to utilize it and make the best roster that we can.”
Kiffin has ‘The Bachelorette’ connections: Kiffin’s daughter, Landry, a freshman at Ole Miss, was at home with several of her friends Monday night for the season finale — the most dramatic one yet, mind you — of The Bachelor.
On Thursday, The Bachelorette
The popular show, a mainstay on ABC for the past two decades, will feature 25 men vying for the affection of bachelorette Jen Tran. Two of those men, former Ole Miss tight end and current staffer Jonathan Hess and former FAU wide receiver John Mitchell, played for Kiffin.
Kiffin, obviously, knew prior to the news being announced. He credited Landry for helping Hess appeal to the screeners at ABC.
"It'll be interesting," Kiffin said. "I feel like it's kind of like the basketball tournament, or now the playoffs in football. I feel like if you can make it and get some momentum going, and get past the beginning to where people see a lot of (Hess), then I think he's got a chance because of his personality.”
Kiffin said he watched the show when it first came out, then “outgrew it.” Now that Landry is in Oxford and around the house quite a bit, he’s being re-exposed to the franchise.
“They talk about it so I do see a little bit of it,” Kiffin said. “I always kind of get annoyed by it because I feel like the competition makes people act different. …They want to have the next show. They don’t want to win, necessarily. They get a high score here and say ‘I love you’ after one date.”